Theories in Medical Social Work

Medical social work is the large field of psychology that focuses on the treatment of patients. This includes formal psychologists, group psychologists or even local social workers. Each theory represents a formal approach to a patient's psychological needs and works to assess those needs and offer a supportive solution to help patients address those needs in a healthy way.

Psychodynamic Theory

• Psychodynamic theories investigate personal theories about a patient's past that led to the patient's current psychological state or condition. The emphasis is on the personal, individual insight of patients in relation to their condition or situation, both how it evolved and how it affects the patient currently. This includes the effects of trauma, such as childhood trauma or assault trauma, as well as personal motivations for psychological health or troubles. Psychodynamic theories seek to learn from a patient's past and lead patients to an understanding of how their past continues to affect them. The goal of psychodynamic theories is to help patients become aware of their own influences on their condition and to personally avoid those influences.

Cognitive-Behavioral Theory

• Cognitive-behavior theories focus on a patient's current situation with an emphasis on how to overcome the problems they are facing. While psychodynamic theories focus on a patient's past, cognitive-behavioral theories only recognize a patient's history as an underlying cause of their current state. Instead, cognitive-behavioral theories focus on methods for overcoming a current condition. Cognitive-behavioral theories often involve changing a patient's habits, perceptions and behaviors, in order to overcome personal anxieties and stress caused by their unhealthy behaviors. This may include communication techniques or discussing alternate behaviors that will yield a healthier outcome.

Humanistic Theory

• Humanistic theories focus on positive emotional reinforcement and the state of a patient's emotions at the moment. The idea behind humanistic theories is that each patient has the ability to overcome his problems, but long-term negative reinforcement can erode an individual's ability to succeed at doing so. The humanist approach focuses on the moment, avoiding evaluations about a patient's past or the future. The idea is that the past and future are both filled with anxieties and problems that can hinder a patient's healing.

Post-Modern Theory

• Post-modern social work theories concentrate on the empowering of patients to confront and overcome their problems. These theories acknowledge that no single psychological theory is adequate to help all patients and it is better to evaluate each patient individually. Post-modern social workers evaluate a patient's history, as well as their current emotions. The focus is self-empowerment and giving patients the tools and techniques they can use to confront their own issues, proactively, in their own lives.